Advent Loyalists ultimate, culture. Thats pretty much it, I wish there was a way to do it without genocide as well.

...They're not real people. Just sayin'.

This is war, not some hippy peace and unity music festival!

would be nice to send marines or somethin like that. 

Maybe you could recover 1 technology from the enemy or so.

Oi...

It's a space game.  I don't really think adding that extra level would add to the game all that much, especially since orbital bombardment can just solve any ground resistance problems.

That being said, having some simple way to take over a planet without orbital bombardment would be nice.

When flipped by culture you should be given the option to take over the planet.

Technically, even thought the population counter resets to 0 when it happens, taking over a planet by culture does not cause the population to die.

They simply rebel against the government and kick it off their planet.

Bear in mind that there are people on these planets prior to colonization. The local militia you cheerfully demolish in order to colonize a planet is not just guarding an empty world -- there are independent civilians down there before you send colonists. Since the Vasari and Advent invaded Trader space, we can assume that these planets are home to independent Trader civilizations who haven't yet gotten the memo to join the Coalition.  Presumably, when colonization occurs, the TEC gives them membership benefits (including tax breaks, Costco cards for everyone, and a nice fleet to defend them from the Advent and the Vasari), the Advent converts the locals to Unity worship, and the Vasari tell them to become valued citizens or die.

The way I see it, cultural overthrow means local insurrection, Heinlein-style (not that I agree with Heinlein on a lot of things, just saying): people buy the incoming propaganda, stage a revolution, overthrow the planetary capital, and establish a regime that is neutral with regard to both the original owner and your empire. Picture violence in the streets, tanks surrounding the capitol building, people with guns and rebel insignias standing on street corners, back-room debates about Marx, hidden weapons caches, that sort of thing.

Also, what Juletron said: population reflects taxable population.  There are still people there, even after orbital bombardment, but they don't occupy cities and they don't take kindly to taxation.

To make a long story short, I'm pretty sure a planet overthrown by culture reverts to the independent state it maintained before anyone colonized it -- people living their lives until someone comes along and makes them an offer they don't refuse.

I thank you for your gift of 1000 Internetz.

Now, how to spend them?

EDIT: On a side note, though morbidly amusing, that's actually how it works:

Vasari Ambassador: "We are the Vasari. We offer you the opportunity to become valued citizens in our glorious Empire. Though your role will be primarily menial, some of you may rise to the rank of menial administrator. Alternatively, you may be incinerated from orbit. As a demonstration of our might, we will scar the face of your largest moon.  Admiral, open fire."

Indigenous representative: *gulp*

Where did you read this from o:

Something you wrote:)?
Sorry I am interested I've always been a sucker for sins lore. I am working on my own fan fiction right now!

Edit: I misread what you said sorry, its late
I do recall alot of your post however. Provided alot of inspiration for some of my writing.

Yeah, I kinda just rattled that off on the fly, though I do spend a lot of time thinking about fluff.

At the risk of derailing the thread, I love fluff, and Sins fluff is beautifully open to interpretation.  Since no single faction is the good guy (they all have their sins, as it were), there are numerous entry points and opportunities for textual poaching (the latter being a technical term coined by Henry Jenkins for "interpreting a text the way you need to interpret it").

To be honest, I'd love to write a "Vignettes of a Solar Empire" fanfic; I just haven't gotten around to it.

I mean, think about all the different viewpoints in the Sins universe!  Just to name a few:

• Advent Aenima: you're not just a drone operator, you're telepathically linked to a drone, to the point that the line between you and the drone becomes blurred. Your day job involves completely submerging your ego within the confines of a drone and resisting the shock of the drone getting blown up (and then repeating the process with a new drone). Also: you're killing people, but you yourself are not in harm's way.
• Domina Subjugator crewman: your day job involves mind-raping other people (that's how Suppression works: you psychically paralyze the enemy crew). Talk about disturbing, particularly if the panic and horror of a psychically paralyzed crew resonates back through the telepathic link to you. If so, Subjugator crewmen probably need intensive therapy (that, or the turnover rate is high).
• Vasari strike craft pilot: bred for small size, minimal resource consumption, tolerance to G-forces, loyalty to the Empire, and ability to follow orders. Self-preservation is optional.
• Vasari ambassador: you have to weave layer upon layer of deception with non-people. I'd like to think that the greatest occupational hazard of a Vasari ambassador is empathy.
• A personal favorite of mine: you're a crewman on a Javelis LRM frigate. The missile autoloading system has been damaged by enemy fire. Fortunately, TEC designers have seen fit to install a manual loading mechanism (just like on Abrams tanks!), and it's up to you to get those missiles loaded and firing.
• You are a crewman aboard a Kol Battleship when the "Finest Hour" ability is used. The story practically writes itself ("Gentleman, the line is ours to hold." And, yes, I made up that line.)
• Three different stories about civilians on three different worlds (one Advent, one TEC, and one Vasari) preparing for orbital bombardment.

Etc.

Just a random line of fluff I imagined (for use as an epigraph): "The Vasari language contains eleven words for honor, seven words for obligation, five for anger, three for dedication, two for love... and thirteen for hatred."

BTW, if anyone here steals these ideas, my vengeance will know no bounds!

As a perennial space racist since Supremacy for Amiga, I say the hell with them all and good riddance. Scorch the earth and every alien on it.

I still wish there was a way to take over planets without knocking everything over.  Perhaps a "Debate" tech.  on the diplomacy tree.  You could start out as a Novice and end up a "Master".  

Backs out of the room slowly...